Ugandan police have been criticised for heavy-handed tactics in blocking a protest by an opposition coalition this week.

The planned march, organised by the Inter-Party Cooperation, an alliance of the four main political parties, was due to take place on Monday to protest the closure of the CBS radio station and the re-appointment of allegedly discredited top officials at the Electoral Commission. However, a deployment of officers to key locations along the route on Sunday meant the protesters were unable to march and the protest was called off.

The police chief, Kale Kayihura, told reporters that he ordered the deployment of officers on Sunday because he had not been given the required seven days notice that the march was taking place. The opposition claim he had been well informed.

In September, Kampala was rocked by two days of riots when the government banned Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, the king of the Baganda people – Uganda's largest ethnic group – from visiting the capital. More than 20 people were killed in clashes between protesters and police that brought to the capital to a standstill. Hundreds more protesters were believed to have been arrested. The media were censured over coverage of the protests and the CBS radio station was closed by the government for allegedly inciting violence. According to the Monitor, the Uganda president, Yoweri Museveni, said CBS would not re-open until he felt reassured the station would not engage in "subversive broadcasting, sectarianism, and inciting violence".

Internal fighting could cost government votes

Ofwono Opondo, the deputy spokesman for the NRM, which is holding its national executive committee meeting next week, said the party expected "a major political shift on the ground in our favour" when the country goes to the polls in 2011, but admitted that "our major weakness is internal rivalry. We are likely to have many disputes especially as we head towards 2011, and the challenge is how we shall address them before our delegates' conference".

Opondo said the party had gained support in the north of the country and the Teso region, in which Katine sub-county, where the Guardian is tracking development work by the NGO Amref, is found.

Opondo went on to criticise the Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) alliance of four opposition parties (the Forum for Democratic Change, the Uganda People's Congress, Justice Forum – JEEMA – and the Conservative party), calling it "very disorganised and weak". However, he added that the alliance was being taken "seriously" by the NRM.

Last month, the IPC agreed to field one candidate for the presidential election next year in the hope of ousting President Museveni, who has been in power since 1986. FDC leader Kizza Besigye is being tipped by the NRM as the frontrunner for candidacy.

The IPC, set up in August 2008, is being funded by the Swedish government NGO the Christian Democratic International Centre and is attracting interest from the EU and other European bodies keen to see electoral reform in Uganda.

The Democratic party has so far refused to join the IPC alliance. One member, Evaristo Nyanzi, a minister in Museveni's first government who was later jailed for trying to overthrow the president, has backed his party's decision. In an interview with the Ugandan Observer he said he did not believe the IPC could beat the NRM.

District administrations 'most corrupt'

District administrations are perceived to be the most corrupt public institutions in Uganda, according to a report published yesterday.

In its report, the IGG said complaints against district administrators included mismanagement, misappropriation of public funds and resources, abuse of office and embezzlement. More than 2,930 complaints were received last year, of which only 288 had been investigated and concluded.

"The public officials have individually continued to use their offices for private gain. The nature of cases mostly reported in this category include abuse of office, conflict of interest, forgery and uttering false documents, property disputes and victimisation," said the report.

Kampala district received the highest number of complaints.

Acting inspector general Raphael Baku warned that chief administrative officers faced prosecution if they didn't take action against corrupt officials.

The police and education authorities also ranked in the top five for complaints of malpractice.

Presenting the findings to parliament, Baku criticised the government for failing to debate its reports and take action against corruption over the last 10 years. "Since 1999 our reports have not been touched and this has affected the way we do our work," Baku reportedly said.

Vocational education mandatory in church schools

Compulsory vocational training will be given to pupils in all schools founded by the Church of Uganda in a bid to cut unemployment rates in the country.

Bishop Zac Niringiye, the chairman of the Church of Uganda's board of education, said giving students practical skills will mean school-leavers will be able to serve their communities and earn a living.

The bishop told a recent Anglican headteachers conference that since central government took over the education system in the 1960s, which led to the church's withdrawal of most of its schools, education standards had declined.

Launch of new female condom

The Ugandan Ministry of Health is hoping a new brand of female condom will offer women greater control over their bodies and prevent HIV infection and unwanted pregnancies.

According to a report for IRIN, a new brand of female condom has proved popular among a test group of women since it was launched in February last year. Women had complained that a previous version of the condom was smelly and noisy during sex.

The ministry, the UN Population Fund and the NGO Programme for Accessible Health Communication and Education are promoting the benefits of the female condom, which they hope will be widely available later this year.

An official at the sexually transmitted diseases clinic at Mulago hospital in Uganda said the condom was also being offered to gay men, as it can be used during anal sex.

Diaspora call for end to investment discrimination

At a recent two-day diaspora investment summit in Kampala, the president of the North American Association (UNAA) Atlanta chapter, Flex Kabuye, argued that all the benefits enjoyed by foreign investors, such as tax holidays, should be extended to everyone to create employment opportunities in the country and encourage local entrepreneurship.

"We have the potential to develop our country, but some unfavourable policies are holding us back. The government should treat all investors equally if the country is to develop," Kabuye told reporters.

He added: "Here the word investor is more meaningful when referring to a foreigner but this is technically wrong. In developed countries an investor is respected no matter where he/she comes from and enjoys the same rights."

The executive director of the Uganda Investment Authority Executive, Maggie Kigozi, denied there was any discrimination, saying incentives were available to all investors.

The Ugandan government has already announced plans to create a diaspora department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which an editorial in New Vision yesterday said was a "step towards Uganda being truly open to viable investment".